Why do we love gardening? Let's count the ways
After more than three decades of garden writing and much longer as a gardener, I'm seeing a new phenomenon.
Gardeners and would-be gardeners seem to be losing self-confidence. Why?ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½ I don't know, but I sense that many garden "experts" are taking things too seriously.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½ Perhaps, in their zeal to help, they're making gardening sound too complicated.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½
Hating the thought that anyone would be frightened away from the enjoyment I find in my own garden, I drew up this Top Ten List of why I think gardening is fun:
10. Does not require a remote control.
9. Has nothing to do with politics.
8. You can blame the weather for anything that goes wrong.
7. Looks enough like work to assure solitude.
6. Legal to exterminate your enemies.
5. Right to bare arms -- and bare legs.
4. Allows you to turn your junk into art objects.
3. Does not require fluency in Latin. (I know: Some people will argue that it does.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½ I've killed a lot of plants over the years, but not one because I mispronounced its Latin name.)
2. You can bury your mistakes in the compost pile.
And the No. 1 reason gardening is fun: You won't be arrested for ignoring "the rules."
I once read that the song "My Way," written by Paul Anka and recorded by Frank Sinatra, was an all-time favorite because everyone likes to think "I did it my way."ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½
Gardening is one place where you truly can. If it looks good to you, then how can it be wrong? I'd rather see a unique garden than a cookie-cutter landscape that looks like all the others on the block.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½Ãƒˆ¯Ã‚ˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½
Twenty years ago, the horticulture director at a major Midwest botanic garden told me that his staff moves a plant an average of seven times before they get it in a place where it thrives.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½
I've taken great comfort in that.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½ I've never had to move a plant seven times, and I'll bet you haven't either.
If you're new to gardening, creating a combo in a big container is a great way to gain confidence. With today's beautiful plants, anyone can be an artist, mixing and matching plants for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. If it doesn't turn out like you envisioned, it's easy to replace a plant or two.ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½Ãƒˆ¯Ã‚ˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½
I read in a horticulture trade magazine that DIY (do-it-yourself) has been surpassed by DIFM (do-it-for-me).ȯˆ¿Ã‚ˆ½ It makes me sad that so many people are missing the fun.
Even the death of a plant can create fun. When my husband cut down our dead golden-bark cherry tree, a piece of the trunk looked like a little man with outstretched arms.
"Stumpy" is now unique garden art, welcoming visitors to our secret garden. Happy gardening!
• Jan Riggenbach's column appears every Sunday. Write to her in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights IL 60006. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a personal reply.